Black Spot is infesting my roses

[kikipug]

Let me preface this by saying I have a brown thumb.

I have 20 rose bushes in my back yard-all different varieties and colors (don't ask me what they are... they grow, I manage not to kill them, and they're pretty...)

Almost all of them have blackspot on them. (Figured that out on a gardening website...) It said to spray them (which I will), however it says NOT to water them with the sprinklers. Well... that's not possible! So what do I do... our yard has an irrigation system (just like almost every other house in FL)...

Why can't they be watered with the sprinkler??? Any ideas???

 

[DebºoºS]

Can you adjust the heads down or just short of hitting them?
Roses don't like to have wet leaves for an extended period of time or wet feet. Both lead to problems such as yours.

Might try setting the timer for late afternoon? It would give them time to dry out. Of course then they can get sunburn if the sun is very strong.
Watering at night when we usually water our lawns is really bad.

Congratulations on keeping them alive & flowering you must be doing a lot right. Doesn't sound like you have a brown thumb to me. Growing roses in FL is very difficult!

Keep spraying they'll come back remember "better living through chemistry"

 

[kikipug]

Thanks. I bought some stuff to spray on them tonight. The sprinklers only run 2x a week; we can't water in the afternoon, as we would have a boiled lawn, and the water-Nazi's would send us to Alcatraz. (I HATE sub-divisions!!!)

The people who owned this house before us were OVERLY plant crazy. I love the roses, and have managed to keep them blooming 11 months of the year, just by keeping them 'well groomed', then cutting them way down in January. We have hibiscus EVERYWHERE, which is great, 'cause it's impossible to kill- it spreads like weeds and is beautiful. We've also got 14 orange trees and a lemon tree that are still alive... but I don't touch them... DH keeps them alive.